Take a look at this project created by a talented 3D Artist known on Twitter as BlaBoo. It is an original character named Sammi, who shows lively emotions despite only having an eye instead of the entire face.
The creator described the process, sharing that the starting point was creating the eye and making shape keys for each expression. Then, they were linked to the drivers, and a control panel was made for them. The artist shared that no plugins were used, and it is a drivers setup. The pupil of the eye is not a mesh but a UV project.
Check out how the character looks in the final version:
